


In Which Raleigh and Chuck Learn to Communicate (Sort Of)

by StrikerEurekaTech (purplexeyed)



Series: Cuddle Puddle 'Verse [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: AU, Angst, Because I am fucking nuts, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Goddammit, I have no fucking idea, I think this is going to keep going?, M/M, None - Freeform, and now there are plot bunnies, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 02:05:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplexeyed/pseuds/StrikerEurekaTech
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...shit's gonna get real, yo.<br/>Tendo's in trouble; Chuck is out for revenge; Max seems to be unable to decide if he likes or dislikes Raleigh; Raleigh is trying to keep Chuck away from that one damned tech who is a flirt; Herc is either amused or plotting Raleigh's untimely and painful demise; K-Science is the place to hideout if the roof's taken; Mako and Yancy need none of this matchmaking nonsense thank you very much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Raleigh and Chuck Learn to Communicate (Sort Of)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in two days. ~~...dear god what have I unleashed.~~
> 
> Well, here goes...something.  
> Enjoy, I guess.

-x-x-x-x-

Raleigh smothered a sigh as he considered Chuck and his conversation-partner over the rim of his coffee cup. That one tech, the one that made Raleigh want to act like a damned middle-schooler—made him want to run over to Chuck, put his arms around him and go "MINE" before sticking his tongue out at her? Yeah. Her. That's who Chuck was talking to. 

He was in a bit of a dilemma, honestly. He and Chuck were together-ish. There was no official conversation or announcement, but...Raleigh was pretty sure he was the only one who got to kiss the Aussie. And while he was no stranger to sex, he was a bit hesitant with Chuck. Because he was damn sure Chuck was a virgin and he also wanted to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted. Be it kaiju, his brother, Mako, Herc...none of them. He wanted them to be able to go slow...or hard and hot and fast. Whichever they decided. Either way, most of the problems with sex were squarely on his half of the court, as Chuck seemed beyond ready and willing.

That said, the damn tech made him want to grind his teeth. She was always smiling and almost hanging off Chuck. Or touching him somehow. And while it didn't seem to bother his boyfriend any, well...it bothered him. Aside from the cuddle puddles, Chuck didn't seem to be big on physical affection—well, aside from kisses and wandering hands...

Anyway. Raleigh really did not like this tech. At all. And while he knew seething silently was not helping, he also knew damn well how Chuck would greet "I really don't like her stop talking to her". He also didn't want to be a controlling asshole, as Chuck should have friends aside from Yancy and Mako. It also wasn't up to him to police who Chuck was with or what he did with them. But on the other hand, this tech made him want to punch things. And, the aforementioned stewing in silence? Never ended well.

"Y'know, you could just tell him she makes you uncomfortable."

He jumped, almost spilling coffee on himself, to find Yancy grabbing a tray. He was followed by Mako.

"That'd go over well." He muttered, grabbing a tray of his own and absently putting somethings he assumed were edible breakfast foods on it.

"It's not what you say but how you say it." Yancy retorted as the two claimed their usual table; Mako joined them moments later.

"I'm pretty sure he'd still tell me to fuck off, even if I asked nicely." Raleigh growled.

"What is wrong?" Mako asked, glancing between the two.

"Nothing." Raleigh responded before glaring at Yancy.

His brother gave a long-suffering sigh before he shook his head. "Don't blame me when it comes back to bite you in the ass." He began to cut up his eggs. "I thought **he'd** be the one with the communication problems but, nooooo..."

Raleigh made a face at him before he poked dispiritedly at what he'd grabbed. He looked over at Mako, who seemed to be watching Chuck and the tech. The tech, after a few moments, noticed. And waved. Mako waved back.

He scowled. Great, now Mako was friends with the source of half of his problems.

-x-x-x-x-

"Is there a reason you are hiding in here?"

Raleigh, who had taken refuge in K-Science after finding his spot on the roof taken, looked up from his jaeger manual.

"S'better than watching some tech flirt with my boyfriend." He responded reluctantly.

Dr. Gottlieb raised an eyebrow. "You're speaking of the friendly Echo tech?"

He nodded.

Dr. Gottlieb gave him a strange look before he made his way to the chalkboard and continued the half-finished calculations. Newt bounced in not long after.

"Hey! You...alright?" The tiny scientist's enthusiasm cooled a bit at the sight of Raleigh half-hidden under Dr. Gottlieb's desk.

"Yeah. Fine."

He missed Dr. Gottlieb giving Newt a Look.

"Hey, wanna help me take apart some kaiju? I could use someone who's stronger'n me." Newt prodded. Raleigh gave him a sour look but obligingly abandoned his jaeger manual and joined Newt on 'his' side of the room.

-x-x-x-x-

"Found a new hideout?" Yancy asked over dinner, expression vaguely annoyed.

Raleigh grinned. "Matter of fact, I have. And it's more fun than the roof."

"Why would you hide out on the roof?" There was an emotion Raleigh was hard put to name in Chuck's voice.

"Normally I'd be out there at night." He added, but Chuck's expression only twisted further.

"He likes to star-gaze. As do I." Yancy supplied helpfully as Mako's face lit up.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We still have a telescope, somewhere. It's not professional grade or anything, but...it works." His brother murmured. "I'm sure Rahls won't mind if we borrow it, yeah?"

"No worries." Raleigh responded, smirking slightly. 

"Astronomy?" Chuck cut in; the blond focused on him as opposed to Mako and Yancy's planning.

"Yeah. For the most part, we were raised in Alaska. Up there, you don't really have to worry about light pollution. Plus, it was easy to get into, cuz as long as we didn't go off our property, our parents didn't really mind us wandering around at night." Raleigh explained.

"As long as we remembered where the pond was, anyway." Yancy muttered.

"One time!"

"Yeah, well, your 'one time' was in the middle of fucking January."

"Which meant that the pond **should** have been frozen over." Raleigh grumbled.

Mako interrupted the argument with a question about the telescope.

"You free later?" Chuck asked while the other two were distracted.

"Dunno." He replied, smothering a smirk when Chuck's brows furrowed. "Y'see, there's this cute redheaded guy who's been around for a bit and I think I promised him a movie night, complete with popcorn and soda."

"Not. Cute." The Aussie growled, but Raleigh could see him hiding a smile.

"Hot date?" Yancy commented, then ducked when Raleigh flung his spoon at him.

"Shut it. And go bother your girlfriend." He'd said it jokingly, but...

"Okay." His brother responded affably before he resumed talking to Mako.

"Wait. What?" Chuck said.

Yancy sighed. "We're dating. We've **been** dating. Where have you two been?"

"Too wrapped up in each other, I think." Mako murmured, grinning slightly. "But now they are together, so perhaps they will notice more of what goes on."

"How long?!" Raleigh spluttered.

Both just smiled and started to converse in Japanese.

"Cheaters." He grumbled.

Chuck frowned. "Does the Marshal know?"

They ignored him, which probably meant "no".

"Your funeral, mate." The Aussie muttered before he returned his attention to Max. 

The day of Raleigh's most recent panic attack—which had been about a month or so ago—Max had been all over him. Cuddling, licking, pestering for pets. He'd thought—hoped—that this meant the dog accepted him. Or at least didn't hate him. Since then, though, he was back to being ignored. Except on the rare occasion that Max would deign to notice him. It was a little frustrating, especially since the whole thing just seemed to amuse Chuck.

"Anyway, what time d'you wanna start the movie?"

"Right after dinner. Sounds like the two lovebirds will be off on the roof, anyway." The tone from earlier was back, though it seemed to center around the word "roof".

What the hell could Chuck have against roofs? Honestly, Raleigh wasn't sure he wanted to know.

-x-x-x-x-

"You still plotting revenge on Tendo?" Raleigh queried as he set up the movie night.

"Maybe."

The bland expression and tone didn't fool the blond. This meant sometime soon, something not-so-nice would happen to Tendo. On one hand, Raleigh could understand the being protective of Max.

It'd been a while since he and Yancy's puppy; a raggedy scrap of a pup they'd rescued from the streets and hidden in the shed from their mom. Eventually she'd caught them sneaking him scraps and had admonished them before bringing the pup in for a bath, then some proper food. From there, the pup became the family dog. Hadn't stopped the asshole kids down the street—and by 'down the street', he meant ten miles away—from going after him with a vengeance. 

One time after Raleigh and Yancy were walking home from the bus stop, they'd found Alex—short for Alexander the Great; the two had a weird sense of humor, okay?—waiting for them with an injured leg, blood dotting his fur. Yancy had scooped him up, began to run home. Raleigh had run ahead, faster where Yancy was stronger, and told their mom. They'd both taken good care of their pup's injuries, but...

The kids? They would pay.

And they did. Raleigh had to smother a smirk; the assholes hadn't expected a reprisal. If anything, Raleigh should go back and thank them. It was that fight that had started he and Yancy's path towards 'delinquents', which had eventually culminated in them making it to where they were today.

That said, in Tendo's case? There was no real ill will; no vindictive pleasure; no spiteful glee. Raleigh had been there; had seen Tendo apologize to Max and offer him some of the soft pretzel he'd managed to get his hands on. So while he understood the urge, he...didn't quite find it warranted in this case.

He knew, though, regardless of what he said, Chuck would do something. Him saying something might make whatever was planned less severe. Or it might worsen it, if Chuck felt like Raleigh was taking Tendo's side. He didn't know; as much as he cared about the little shit, Chuck was unpredictable at best, downright temperamental at worst. While he'd gotten a bit less so since he'd made better friends with Mako and friends to begin with with Yancy and him...he was still more apt to lash out than not.

And while that aggressiveness was good for fighting kaiju, it made social interactions a bit rough. Not that Raleigh could really talk; he was pretty socially awkward himself. He was just better at hiding it behind the facade of "eager younger brother" that he'd perfected for interviews. ...which might be why this was such a problem.

He wanted to talk to Chuck. But he wasn't used to really interacting with people, save Yancy and Tendo, on a more personal level. He was used to people grinning or giggling or cooing over the mask he wore and not probing any deeper than that. Chuck had, Chuck knew. Which meant that Raleigh was in kinda uncharted territory here. 

He gave a shit about the redhead; hell, he was actually _dating_ him. Even though their dates weren't really anything special, as they couldn't go far in case of kaiju. So...while he didn't mind saying whatever to Yancy or Tendo? They knew him; knew that he was shit with how to word things. Knew that while it might come out wrong, there was little to no chance he meant to upset or offend. And while Chuck certainly had gotten to know him better, he was also apt to flip his shit first and analyze second.

"Rahleigh?"

He blinked, then realized he'd been trying to put the DVD—still in it's case—in the DVD player. He quickly fumbled the disk into the proper slot, then set it up to play before he rejoined Chuck on the bed.

"You alright?"

"Just a bit distracted." He responded. The blond had learned by now that if he copped up to 'yeah something's wrong but I don't really wanna talk about it', Chuck wouldn't fly off the handle. Lying was one of the quickest ways to piss the Aussie off. And while he knew Chuck wasn't happy to let it go, he would after it had been acknowledged unless he was really worried.

The response was a tight nod.

He smothered a sigh and turned his attention to the movie. Maybe it would have an idea on how to broach the subject of the clingy tech without coming off like a controlling or jealous asshole...

-x-x-x-x-

Nope. Movie was no help, what-so-ever. 

...okay, that was a lie. He currently had a sleepy, snuggly Aussie cuddling into his side. So that? That was a win. The fact that Chuck essentially turned into an octopus when tired—especially now that he knew Raleigh didn't mind it—was just a win in general. But the fact that Chuck had been tense because he was concerned but was now grinning at him sleepily? That was the ultimate win.

...but he still had no idea how to broach the topic.

"Plannin' on spendin' the night here?" He murmured as he pressed a kiss to Chuck's temple.

"Mmm." Was the contented response as the redhead leaned against him and closed his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes." Raleigh said before settling both of them into a comfortable position, then covering them with the blanket. Australia might normally be fairly warm during the day, but it got ridiculously cold at night. And Chuck, he had been quick to learn, hated the cold almost as much as he hated being cold.

Then he realized something. "Where's Max?"

"Wi' dad." Came the sleep-slurred reply.

He smiled, slightly; Chuck only ever called his dad 'dad' when he was tired. It was a pity, honestly. Because he knew that Herc and Chuck's relationship was very strained. He wasn't sure why and he also wasn't about to make an ass of himself by trying to 'fix' something he knew little about but...he couldn't help but be a bit concerned.

"Tell yer brain t'shu' up." Chuck grumbled as he pulled Raleigh closer.

"Will do." He responded with a smile.

-x-x-x-x-

He'd thought that things were going well, in spite of the lack of sex and the slight communication issues. Well, he had thought that.

Until Yancy had dragged him into a deserted room with a slightly manic look in his eyes.

"I didn't tell the Marshal?" He supplied hesitantly.

His brother glared. "I know _that_."

"Okay, then I have no clue why you look like you're about to go Hannibal on me."

"I am not going to eat you. Gross. Seriously—wait, shut up, don't answer that. Stop trying to distract me."

Raleigh just grinned unrepentantly.

"Anyway, what the fuck? Or should I say lack of fuck?" Yancy grumbled.

He stared, sure he was making his—apparently patented—does not compute face.

"Chuck." Yancy added.

"What about him?" Raleigh replied.

"Kid was asking me over breakfast—fucking breakfast—about your past sexcapades. With his dad not even five feet away, perfectly in earshot." His brother quickly grabbed him before he could go headwall. "Either he has some sort of a vendetta against you—or he has one against me, because if looks could kill..."

"Why the fuck is he asking you, anyway?" Raleigh muttered.

"I dunno. Why haven't you said anything about the damn tech?"

The younger winced. "Well..."

"Exactly." Yancy retorted. "You don't know how to start that conversation anymore than Chuck knows how to start the 'hey why aren't we having sex yet' one." 

Raleigh facepalmed. "Never, ever, ever say that again."

"Then go fucking talk to your boyfriend before he gets either of us killed by Herc for asking things he really either a) shouldn't know or b) should be talking to you about! When his dad's not in earshot!"

He sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll talk to him."

-x-x-x-x-

Raleigh had planned to to talk to Chuck. Really, he had. He just...got sidetracked. By a tiny scientist with better puppy-dog eyes than Max. That and he kinda enjoyed hanging out in K-Science. Newt knew how to explain what he was talking about in layman's terms, so Raleigh could follow along. And as much as he hated kaiju, it was...interesting. And he could understand where the man's passion came from. Sometimes he'd catch Dr. Gottlieb watching Newt; face a bit more open, expression verging on what he could only call 'fond'. 

Once he was spotted, though, Dr. Gottlieb would hurriedly return to his calculations. The blond was tempted to talk him sometime, but realized that by now pretty much the whole Shatterdome knew he and Chuck were dating. So if Dr. Gottlieb was trying to conceal his interest? It wasn't because of Raleigh.

At any rate, K-Science was surprisingly soothing. Working with his hands was always something he'd enjoyed, something he was good at. So being able to do it alongside someone who clearly loved their work and would happily talk about it for hours on end? It was a bit of a blessing. And the work itself was pretty simple; a stark contrast to how things were outside of K-Science at the moment.

"Is everything alright?"

Raleigh looked up; Newt had bounced off to go deal with the newest shipment coming in, so the speaker could only be Dr. Gottlieb.

"Define everything." He responded hesitantly.

"You seem to dislike one of Chuck's friends."

He stared; how in the hell...?

Dr. Gottlieb's smile was tiny but it was there. "You would be surprised by how easy it is to find out what goes on simply by observing."

Raleigh put another piece of kaiju into storage as he considered what to do. He had a feeling he could trust Dr. Gottlieb; for all the man was distant and quiet, he didn't give off a bad vibe. And he was usually pretty good at reading people. His intuition said "this guy's good", so...

"You have a suggestion?"

"If you are willing to hear it, yes."

Newt chose then to bounce back in. "Oops. Sorry. Interrupting?"

Dr. Gottlieb sighed. "Newton, honestly."

Newt just grinned. "Well, I can go over the shipment again. Be back in ten!" And the door closed behind him, but it was almost a slam.

"...lemme guess. I'm not the only one in a kinda complicated relationship?"

Dr. Gottlieb's smile was larger, but wry. "You have no idea."

-x-x-x-x-

When Newt returned, he seemed to be his usual, slightly manic self. But Raleigh knew him better now; could tell he was some measure of upset.

"Y'know." He murmured as he approached to help move the kaiju-bits. "Dr. Gottlieb was just giving me some advice."

The tiny scientist looked up at him. "What?"

"Advice. I'm dating Chuck, so..."

A sudden blush bloomed across the smaller man's face. "Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Yeah. I knew that."

Across the room, Dr. Gottlieb shook his head and resumed his calculations. But Raleigh had caught the small smile, so he considered it a win. 

And if Dr. Gottlieb could deal with what had been briefly discussed daily? He could definitely talk to Chuck.

-x-x-x-x-

He was toweling his hair—he always took a decontamination shower before he left the lab but he felt weird if he didn't take a real shower afterward anyway—when he noticed a sullen Chuck camped out on his bunk. Raleigh abandoned the towel before he approached, bare feet all but silent on cold concrete.

"Hey." He murmured as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. He was prepared for anger, for sullen silence, for stubborn refusal to talk. What he didn't expect was for Chuck to all but fling himself into Raleigh's arms and cling to him. He pulled the shaken redhead closer and hugged him. "What happened?"

Chuck just shook his head and clung tighter.

Mako burst in, followed by Yancy. "Is Chuck—"

"Right here? Yes." Raleigh responded, but shifted positions so Chuck would be more comfortable. Mako didn't respond, just sat on Chuck's other side and rubbed his back; Yancy joined the cuddle puddle and made sure Chuck was covered with a blanket.

Eventually, the Aussie drifted off, still clinging to Raleigh.

Who turned to the other two. "What the fuck happened?"

"Herc...he and Herc were sparring. But they weren't...really clicking. Chuck's..."

"Been mad at him for something, something more than usual. Yeah. But that's normally not enough to throw either of them off." Raleigh absently ran a hand down Chuck's back, trying to soothe some of the tense lines that still remained, even in sleep.

"Well, today Herc was angry over something too. So they..."

"Fucked up royal." Yancy finished helpfully. "Seriously, Rahls. It was almost as bad as our first drift-compatibility test."

"Today's Uncle Scott's birthday."

All three jumped; they'd honestly thought Chuck asleep.

"Un—oh." Raleigh mumbled. "The one your dad piloted Lucky Seven with, yeah?"

The redhead nodded. "He was dismissed. Because of the old man. Since then..."

When Raleigh understood, he felt sick.

He knew, all pilots knew, there could be a bit of a bleed between the two. Personality, likes, dislikes...sometimes a pilot would pick up a little from the one they drifted with. Not just memories but preferences. He'd found out why Scott Hansen had been dismissed—Tendo made him swore never to repeat it upon pain of death—but he knew. And now he knew why their relationship was so strained, at least on Herc's part.

Scott Hansen was dismissed for "actions unbecoming of a jaeger pilot". That was an official, euphemistic, way of saying "coercing teens from ages 14 to 16 to have sex with him". Herc had presumably found out during the drift, as Scott had been terrifyingly good at covering his tracks. Which meant Herc had been the one to turn him in; Chuck had confirmed that with what he'd said. But it explained why Herc was so damned distant with his son.

If Scott was predatory towards younger people—he hadn't been picky; male or female would do—what if there had been a bit of a bleed? No wonder Herc avoided his son when they weren't piloting or training. No wonder Chuck was fucking touch-starved.

No wonder Chuck was always so angry. He had no idea why Scott was dismissed; most didn't. So as far as he knew, his dad had just up and got Scott fired. No rhyme, no reason. So he came up with a reason. Which was why Chuck was such a perfectionist now. Which also explained why he'd gotten so upset when he and his dad hadn't really clicked today; he thought his dad was gonna fucking leave him behind if he couldn't keep up. Just like Uncle Scott.

"Jesus fuck." Raleigh croaked. He thought he'd had communication issues; nope, Papa Hansen had them and he had them in spades.

He pulled Chuck closer, pressed a kiss to his forehead. Mako and Yancy scooted closer; kept Chuck in the center of the cuddle puddle. Over time, the redhead relaxed; had calmed enough to talk shop with Mako. The younger two might have been oblivious but Yancy was not. And the look he gave Raleigh? Meant that his brother would find out why he'd suddenly paled and yanked his boyfriend as close as possible.

Tendo was gonna fucking kill him.

-x-x-x-x-

The four were playing a lazy game of cards in the brothers' room when Yancy decided to bring it up.

"So, Rahls. What prompted that little freak out, a few days ago?"

Chuck looked over at him. "Freak out?" There was a hint of anger in his tone; he didn't like being left in the dark, especially where Raleigh was concerned.

Raleigh mentally punched Yancy; he really didn't want to go into this. From the sound of it, Chuck was still friendly with Scott. Or at least thought well of him. And that meant what he had to say would be worse than if he was distant or just didn't care.

"Well?" Yancy pushed.

"Tendo told me why Scott was dismissed." He managed out; all three gaped at him. "The real reason."

"Why?" He could tell, from how Chuck was looking at him, that he wouldn't let this go now. He'd find out, even if it meant getting his hands on Scott's file.

Raleigh squeezed his eyes shut; he didn't want to see the look on Chuck's face. "Sexual misconduct with fourteen to sixteen year olds." He opened them in time to catch the complete shock on his boyfriend's face.

The shock hardened to anger and Chuck stalked from the room; the other three quickly followed him.

Thankfully, Herc was in his room; Yancy closed the door behind the three of them.

"Problem?" Herc asked, ignoring Raleigh's "DON'T" gesture.

As it turned out, there was a problem. And Raleigh was very grateful for the soundproofing of the rooms.

-x-x-x-x-

Shakespeare had a point, he guessed. All was well that ended well. And seeing as Chuck completely flipping his shit on Herc—Raleigh knew Chuck'd drawn the same conclusion he had—which forced Herc to confront the fact that he was, in fact, not his brother. After making sure the two would be alright, the other three had left, so father and son could finish their talk without an audience.

Raleigh looked down; Max was on the leash and walking with him, at least. Had yet to try to trip him.

"You didn't seem so surprised." He found himself commenting to Yancy.

His brother stiffened before he shuffled Raleigh and Mako to the helicopter landing pad. It was deserted this time of day, so they didn't have to worry anyone would overhear.

"I caught him at it, alright? He had one of our techs-in-training back at the Icebox up against the wall. She wanted no part of it but...he'd said...he'd said it was our word against his. A rookie pilot and a tech-in-training against a veteran Ranger? No one would've fuckin' listened. And she'd begged me not to tell. I promised." 

Mako stood behind Yancy, who'd turned away from them, and slipped her arms around him. Her forehead rested against his shoulder blade, but Raleigh saw his brother start to relax at that.

He let them have their moment before he joined the hug. 

"Right after that." His brother continued hesitantly. "Was Manila."

"So it worked out okay." Raleigh murmured.

"Somewhat." Yancy mumbled but hugged back.

"Wish you'd've mentioned it. I would've believed you." Raleigh grumbled as they took Max back inside for a walk.

"Yeah but you would've gone after him."

Mako's smile was sugar-sweet. "Reports indicate that Lucky Seven's left arm was all but useless in the final fight because the pilot's arm was broken."

"Yeah, I would've gone after him." The younger brother muttered, shaking his head.

"It was an accident. I...wasn't so careful about getting him off her."

"Do you think either of us would have been?" Mako returned.

Yancy smiled, slightly.

Raleigh wondered when the fuck everything got even more complicated. And wanted to go back to the cuddle puddle from his panic attack and re-do this whole thing over again.

-x-x-x-x-

When they saw Herc and Chuck at dinner, they let the two to their own devices. All smothered smiles at the awkward-but-trying atmosphere around them; the even more awkward back-pat made Mako lose it.

Yancy managed to keep his face straight but Raleigh ended up inhaling his milk and coughing until his eyes watered.

Tendo took the seat next to Raleigh. "You alright, man?"

Raleigh gave him a thumbs-up; Yancy swatted him. Mako shook her head.

Tendo just snickered.

-x-x-x-x-

The Tendo they saw the next day was not snickering, not at all. His hair was a terrifying shade of pink.

Mako could only stare. 

"Well." Yancy mumbled once the fuming Tendo had moved further away.

"Now we know Chuck's revenge." Raleigh added just as quietly.

Max, who was sprawled across Raleigh's boots, wuffed and wagged his tail.

The younger blond gave the dog a 'the fuck' look as Yancy and Mako snickered.

"It's morning. Why?" Chuck grumbled as he flopped down next to Raleigh.

"Why is it morning or why are we laughing?" Yancy queried.

His response was stalled by the fact that Herc took the seat on the other side of Chuck. And nodded a "morning" to him; Chuck nodded back. For several moments, all was good. All was quiet. Raleigh was starting to think that this would be alright.

"So which of yeh told 'im?"

All three kept their eyes down and on their plates as Chuck grumped at his dad.

"It's supposed to be classified. I wanna know how you lot knew."

Yancy masked a flinch; Mako scooted closer and murmured something in Japanese.

"Technically, we both did." Raleigh admitted quietly, nodding towards Yancy. "But we didn't know we both did."

Chuck frowned, then opened his mouth—but closed it when Raleigh shook his head slightly.

"Long story short, I found out because I'm sneaky like that." Raleigh offered; Mako kept Yancy engaged in a conversation.

Herc scowled at him but turned his attention back to breakfast. Chuck rolled his eyes so hard Raleigh half-thought they'd fall out of his skull.

-x-x-x-x-

"Did you have a chance to talk to him?"

Raleigh groaned and facetabled before Newt could put his specimen down.

Dr. Gottlieb shook his head, then offered, "busy day?"

"Something like that."

Newt poked him, so he moved.

"Perhaps next time?" 

He watched the number-focused of the duo climb his ladder. "Perhaps."

"Dude, seriously, chill. Chuck likes you. A lot. He's been a hell of a lot better to be around since you and Yancy and Mako made friends with him. And he chilled out even more since you two started dating. Just, y'know...talk to him. I can't promise it'll all come out okay at first, but you gotta start somewhere, right?"

Raleigh nodded, relaxing. Newt was right. He might not get it right on the first try, but...they did need to talk. So they'd talk. 

-x-x-x-x-

"So. Rahleigh."

Raleigh looked up from his book on World War II. 

Yancy, Mako and Chuck had formed a cuddle puddle on his bunk, for reasons he decided not to question. He, however, was still at his desk, absorbed in the re-telling of D-Day.

"Yeah?"

"Is it true that you got your tongue stuck to a pole because of A Christmas Story?"

Raleigh gaped at him before rounding on Yancy.

"I didn't say anything. I swear!" 

"Kwoon. **_Now_**."

Mako and Chuck exchanged looks before deciding that they should probably separate their boyfriends before Raleigh handed Yancy's ass to him.

-x-x-x-x-

"Yes. It's true." Raleigh ground out; Mako had dragged Yancy elsewhere.

Chuck could see the blush, so he didn't take it personally. "You're not the only one who did stupid shit as a kid, mate."

"Really?"

"Really." The Aussie replied.

"Speaking of stupid things..." Raleigh murmured, then paused. Fuck, how was he supposed to...

"There a reason we haven't had sex yet? You said the age difference didn't bother you b—"

He quickly cut Chuck's ramble off with a kiss.

"It's not that I don't want to." Raleigh murmured. "It's more of an..."

"An what?"

"Before, it was fuck and move along. I'd only ever had one real relationship and it fell apart once sex became part of the equation." The blond managed out. "So I wasn't in a hurry..."

"I'm not whatever idiot dumped you." Chuck growled before pulling him into a rough and filthy kiss.

"No." He responded once he'd gotten his breath back. "You're not."

-x-x-x-x-

Sex made things both better and worse.

Better, because it made Chuck a happy puddle of clingy Aussie octopus moreso than even sleep did. Worse, because now Herc was back to giving him a rather disgruntled side-eye whenever he saw him. Raleigh prayed that none of their activities came up in the drift; he and Chuck were careful not to do anything the other disliked, but...Herc really didn't need to know what Chuck liked in the bedroom. Or what Raleigh liked, either.

It also seemed to make that jealous, possessive feeling about ten times worse.

He knew Chuck was into him, was dating him. He had the bruises and the pleasant soreness from their almost-daily sexcapades to prove that, at least. But the damned tech was still always hanging off him and Chuck never said a word.

Didn't mind, didn't care, didn't...

"If you glare any harder, your head will explode." Yancy advised.

"Shut. Up." He snarled.

"I thought you were going to talk to him about that?" Mako asked.

"I was going to." Raleigh grumbled. "But..."

"Good grief." Yancy mumbled. "We don't need to hear what got in the way. Or who got into who."

"Like I'd tell you who's on top."

Mako just shook her head, amused, as the two bickered.

-x-x-x-x-

"What's with you and the tech?"

When he saw the look on Chuck's face, he instantly wished he'd phrased it better.

The muscle in the Aussie's jaw twitched. "What about the tech?"

"She's always hanging off you." He stated.

The anger vanished as Chuck tilted his head to the side. "Wait, are you **_jealous_**?"

"...yes." Raleigh bit out. "You don't let anyone else do that, but she gets to."

"You think I'd mind if you did?"

"Yes!"

"If it was a constant thing, maybe. But I don't mind casual touches. I'm just not...used to them." Chuck muttered, looking a bit uncomfortable.

That was when Raleigh recalled the whole Scott-Hansen-getting-dismissed-and-his-dad-possibly- having-a-drift-bleed-crisis-and-avoiding-the-fuck-out-of-his-son-because-of-it. 

Without a word, Raleigh hugged Chuck. After a moment, Chuck hugged back.

"So you don't care if I stand close, put an arm around you, lean on you?"

"No, I don't. Just no..."

"No kissing in public? Or hand-holding?"

"None of that." Chuck griped, giving his boyfriend a sour look.

It softened to a slight pout when Raleigh gave him an Eskimo kiss.

"My lips are down here, you stupid drongo." The Aussie grumbled before he kissed Raleigh, who couldn't help but smile into it.

Yancy interrupted their moment by throwing his pillow at them.

"Hey!" Raleigh protested. "We don't bother you two."

"You have not caught us kissing, have you?" Mako retorted.

Yancy's smirk was probably what provoked the ensuing pillow fight.

-x-x-x-x-

"Excuse me, is this the idiot table?"

Yancy and Raleigh spun around, almost falling out of their seats, to find a very familiar blonde girl smirking down at them.

"Jaz!" Raleigh half tackled her; Yancy followed suit. Their sister hugged them back, grinning.

"Guys, this is..." Raleigh paused as he noted Mako and Chuck's smug grins.

"You knew?" Yancy asked.

"We did." Chuck responded, smirk only widening.

"Yeah, they did. Heard you were giving my girlfriend a hard time, so I figured I'd head over a little sooner than I originally planned."

"Girlfriend?!"

"Aye, girlfriend." The tech Chuck was always talking to stated as she handed Jaz a tray with food on it.

"Thanks." Jaz kissed the tech's cheek, then claimed the seat next to Raleigh; Chuck motioned the tech over to the spot next to him.

"Wait. What?" Yancy mumbled.

"Tendo is surprisingly helpful at helping people get reassigned if you help him turn his hair back to its normal shade." The tech supplied in a dry tone.

Jaz just smiled. "So, didja hear Gipsy's getting a new tech?"

The Becket brothers stared as Mako, Chuck and the tech laughed.

-x-x-x-x-

"Wait a second..." Raleigh muttered as they finished up dessert. " **That's** how you heard about the pole incident!" 

"Yep." Jaz and the tech stated in unison, then grinned.

Chuck eyes danced wickedly as he added, "that's not the only thing I heard."

Raleigh wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he had a feeling he would find out one way or another.

-x-x-x-x-

**Author's Note:**

> Americans have the middle finger.  
> The English (at least, fuck if I know what the Irish and the Scots and the Welsh are up to) have the...backwards peace sign/two finger salute.  
> The Aussies? They have the thumbs-up.
> 
> Aka. Don't fucking do that there, _Rah_ leigh!
> 
> Also, yeah, come poke me here if you want: [Tumblrrrrrr](http://strikereurekatech.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Alsoalso: I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT MAX'S NAME.  
> It just didn't fit here. That and there's only so much angst even I can pack into one fic.  
> That'll be up next after the damned Newmannish fic my plot bunnies are badgering me to write.


End file.
